to become known/noticeable

Question

Hello,Which sentence sounds better: "Nobody had heard of his party until it emerged/appeared in 2013." When a party, company, organization becomes known, can both verbs be used? Emerge sounds good to me, but appear,hmm...not as good. What is the difference in meaning?

Deadrat · Accepted Answer

Very little in this context.

Emerge can have the connotation of being hidden before coming into sight.

Gene93 · Answer

Yes, I thought it could be something like that. It could have been founded in 2012, but it emerged in 2013. Can't appear have a similar connotation, though?

Deadrat · Answer

Yes, both words work in your example.

The distinction is slight:

As we approached the crossroads, evidence of a small town appeared.
As we approached the town, small buildings emerged from the fog.

I'd select "appeared" in the first sentence because nothing was hidden from view; the town was at first just too far away to be seen. I'd select "emerged" in the second sentence, because the fog cloaked the buildings, which would otherwise have been evident. But even here the difference is so slight that exchanging the words would be OK.

to become known/noticeable

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As we approached the crossroads, evidence of a small town appeared.
As we approached the town, small buildings emerged from the fog.

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to become known/noticeable

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

As we approached the crossroads, evidence of a small town appeared.As we approached the town, small buildings emerged from the fog.

Related Questions

As we approached the crossroads, evidence of a small town appeared.
As we approached the town, small buildings emerged from the fog.